The 2026 workshop on Generative and Agentic AI for Biology

Welcome to the 2026 workshop on Generative and Agentic AI for Biology! We are at a pivotal moment where AI is not only generating novel molecules and predicting biological structures, but also beginning to reason, plan, and act as autonomous agents in the scientific process. This workshop brings together leading researchers from machine learning, computational biology, and industry to explore both fronts — from the latest generative models for proteins, RNAs, and cells, to the emerging role of AI agents in experimental design and biological discovery. Join us for invited talks, a panel discussion, and conversations that span the full spectrum of AI-driven biology.

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Overview

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded for AI-based protein structure prediction and protein design, underscored the transformative impact of machine learning on the life sciences. Generative AI models, including large language models, diffusion models, and foundation models for biological sequences and cells, have demonstrated remarkable success in modeling and designing biomolecules and biological systems. However, a new paradigm is emerging. Beyond generating biological sequences or structures, AI systems are beginning to act as agents: formulating hypotheses, planning experiments, interacting with tools and databases, and iteratively refining scientific strategies. This workshop aims to explore the future of AI for biology at the intersection of these two paradigms. Rather than focusing solely on incremental advances in generative modeling, we seek to engage the community in a deeper discussion about the conceptual and practical foundations of AI-driven biological discovery. Key questions include:

Will agentic AI subsume generative models, or are they complementary components of future scientific systems?
In what biological problems is agentic AI necessary?
What architectures are required for AI systems that reason across molecules, cells, tissues, and organisms?
How should we evaluate AI agents that participate in biological discovery?
What is the role of human scientists in an era of AI-driven hypothesis generation and experimentation?

We aim to discuss these questions through invited talks, poster presentations, and panel discussions on the following topics:

Generative models for biomolecule and therapeutic design.
Agent-based systems for hypothesis generation, experimental planning, and closed-loop wet-lab integration.
Foundation models and world models for multi-scale biology.
Benchmarks and evaluation frameworks for autonomous scientific systems.
Human-AI collaboration paradigms in biological research.
Safety, governance, and ethical considerations of autonomous biological AI systems.

Schedule (UTC+9)

Time	Session	Event	Presenter
8:50 – 9:00	Agents for Bio	Opening Remarks
9:00 – 9:45		Invited Talk	James Zou (Stanford University)
9:45 – 10:15		Invited Talk	Gianni De Fabritiis (Lila Sciences)
10:15 – 10:45		Invited Talk	Joy Jiao (OpenAI)
10:45 – 11:00		Break
11:00 – 11:30		Spotlight Talks
11:30 – 13:00	Poster Session & Lunch
13:00 – 13:30	GenAI for Bio	Invited Talk	Gabriele Corso (Boltz)
13:30 – 14:00		Invited Talk	Martin Steinegger (Seoul National University)
14:00 – 14:30		Invited Talk	Yunha Hwang (MIT)
14:30 – 15:00		Invited Talk	Yusuf Roohani (Arc Institute)
15:00 – 15:30		Break
15:30 – 16:00		Spotlight Talks
16:00 – 16:50	Panel Discussion
16:50 – 17:00	Closing Remarks & Awards

Important Dates

All deadlines are 11:59 pm UTC -12h ("Anywhere on Earth"). All authors must have an OpenReview profile when submitting. If you do not have one, please create your profile early — profiles without an institutional email can take up to two weeks to be approved.

Submission Deadline: May 1, 2026
Author Notification: May 21, 2026
Camera Ready Deadline: June 4, 2026
Workshop Date: July 10-11, 2026

The workshop will be held on July 10-11, 2026 at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center, Seoul, South Korea.

Submission Instructions

All submissions are managed through OpenReview. Please submit your paper via our OpenReview portal. Submissions can be either short papers (up to 4 pages) or long papers (up to 9 pages), excluding references and appendices, using our LaTeX template. All submissions must be anonymous for double-blind review.

Accepted papers will be presented as posters during the poster sessions. Selected works will also be highlighted as Spotlight talks.